Binance Declines to Comment on ECB Intervention Report
Binance has declined to address a report stating that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intervened in the exchange's unsuccessful Greek cryptocurrency license bid. A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company would not comment on speculation and remains committed to operating on a long-term, compliant basis under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
The Wall Street Journal reported that a vice chair of Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) allegedly told Binance that Lagarde asked Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis not to approve the application. According to the report, Greek officials had informed the European Securities and Markets Authority in early June that the regulator intended to approve the license.
Background on the Greek Application and MiCA Deadline
The latest report follows uncertainty surrounding Binance’s application, which was filed in Greece in January. In mid-June, reports suggested the HCMC was poised to reject the application, while subsequent reports claimed Lagarde had intervened. Binance ultimately withdrew its Greek application just days before the July 1 MiCA deadline, stating at the time that it would seek authorization in another EU jurisdiction.
Cointelegraph reached out to both the ECB and the HCMC for comment regarding the report, but had not received responses prior to publication.
